Aston Villa legend sends transfer plea to Raheem Sterling amid links to Premier League rival

Aston Villa have already been giving the blessing of club legend Gabby Agbonlahor when it comes to their potential signing of Raheem Sterling.

The Chelsea winger has found himself out of favour at Stamford Bridge after being left out of the matchday squad in their Premier League opener against his former club, Manchester City.

6

And, despite having three years left to run on his contract with the Blues, a possible transfer is now on the cards for Sterling with Enzo Maresca telling the player he’s surplus to requirements.

As talkSPORT has previously reported, one possible destination for the England international would be a move to the Midlands.

Villa have already made contact with Chelsea over his availability, although no conversations have been had with Sterling directly yet.

The forward’s contract is worth £15million a year, which means the London club have an incentive to help find a solution.

But with Sterling not willing to move to Saudi Arabia, other Premier League teams are one of the main destinations to consider – talkSPORT understands Crystal Palace are another top flight side keen on the 29-year-old.

While neither Villa nor Palace will be able to match the kind of wages Sterling is getting currently at Stamford Bridge, Unai Emery‘s side can offer him Champions League football this season.

They mark a return to top flight European football for the first time in 42 years after an excellent last campaign.

And for Agbonlahor – who made 391 appearances for Villa and remains their top goalscorer in Premier League history – the news linking Sterling to his boyhood club was welcome indeed and he labelled the idea as a great one.

“I just think, ‘why not?'” he told talkSPORT. “You know, Raheem Sterling is 29. We’re not talking about someone in their mid-thirties. At the start of last season, we were all saying, how is he not being called up by Gareth Southgate?’

“He was in such great form. Chelsea were a shambles last season. Players weren’t given the games to prove themselves. It was a poor season for the majority of Chelsea players.

6

6

“So if it’s right and the club want to do it, why wouldn’t Aston Villa fans be on side? Because he’s an outstanding player when he’s being coached right by a top coach like Unai Emery – I’m sure he’ll get the best out of him.”

And it is not just Sterling who he believes would benefit from the move, especially as the former Chelsea man is keen to work his way back into the England set-up.

Agbonlahor pointed out it’s a transfer Villa’s existing forward players would be likely to benefit from, particularly given the demands of European football.

Villa already boast a number of attacking options including the likes of England Euro 2024 star Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and new signings Jhon Duran and Ross Barkley – but Agbonlahor insisted another strong contender could not hurt.

“I think it’s good to have competition,” he said. “Last season Ollie Watkins was quite lucky to not get any bad injury. You know what football can do. Sometimes you can get a bad injury out of somewhere. You need to have options.

“And with [Jhon] Duran, he’s a player that, yes, there’s been talk about how he can sometimes be a bit hard work to manage and coach, but his talent’s there to show.

“And he’s a player that you’re going to need playing in the Champions League now as well, it’ll be hard for players to play Tuesday or Wednesday and Saturday, week in, week out.

6

“You need that competition for places. And also [Morgan] Rogers is one that I really like. He could play as a number nine as well, if needed, not just off the left.

“There’s competition for places all across the field now, but I just think Aston Villa missing out on [Joao] Felix – the player that Unai Emery wanted – means there’s funds available. [Alex] Moreno has left to go to Nottingham Forest.

“There’s funds available for Aston Villa to do some business in the last week of the window, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sterling thing might happen or someone else comes in.”

Sterling is one of a number of players who have not been included in Chelsea’s plans for the upcoming season and have subsequently been linked to possible transfers.

Academy graduate Conor Gallagher was amongst that group and finally completed a move to Atletico Madrid after a complicated saga with his childhood club.

6

6

It has led to Chelsea coming in for intense scrutiny and criticism – and Agbonlahor is among those who has not looked kindly upon their actions recently.

“The treatment of these Chelsea players is a disgrace,” he said. “And they’re becoming a club that other fanbases will start to dislike.

“The way they’re treating players – yes, you can not want a player, but to throw them in a bomb squad and say, you can’t use the facilities you’ve got, you can’t come in the canteen, you can’t do this, treating them like absolute dirt.

“I just don’t get it. Like if I’m Raheem Sterling, [Trevoh] Chalobah, [Romelu] Lukaku, [Ben] Chilwell, I’m saying I will leave on my own terms. I’ll go on loan if the club suits me where I want to go.

“If you want me to leave permanently, you better get your chequebook out because I’m taking a high proportion of my wage that I’m due – or I’m not leaving. Simple as that. Because clubs do it. Clubs have done it to players.

“When I was at Aston Villa, all the clubs do it and it’s a disgrace. And that’s why I say there is no loyalty in football.

“So fans – don’t be saying, ‘oh, this player did this to try and leave and put in a transfer request’. Because when a club don’t want you, they treat you like absolute garbage.”